This week on the podcast we're discussing the Windows 8 Release Preview, iOS 5.1.1's great new jailbreak, compromised passwords, and a lot more. Also we'll be answering a couple of questions about reinstalling Windows, yet another inquiry about SSDs, and whether or not you can build your own iPod.

How to Watch or Listen to This Week's Episode

You can watch the episode by clicking the play button above, but there are plenty of other ways to get it:

News and Discussion

00:59 Windows 8 Release Preview
Although it's kind of old news by now, the Windows 8 Release Preview is now available for download. If you haven't checked out Windows 8 just yet, you might want to get on that. You may also want to wait as it's not feature complete and, like previous releases, you won't be able to upgrade to the final version without a complete re-install.

12:09 Facebook App Auto-sharing
Are you familiar with auto-sharing apps on Facebook? They're the ones that share news stories and other things on your timeline when you've interacted with their content. Facebook created new guideliness for these apps that require them to ensure you've viewed the content for at least 10 seconds before sharing. We don't think this is a very good fix to the problem and you should avoid them altogether. The way to do this is to do a regular audit of your Facebook apps. If you need some help, check out our Always Up-to-Date Guide to Managing Your Facebook Privacy.

Keeping your Facebook info private is getting harder and harder all the time—mostly because…
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15:06 Linkedin and Last.fm Passwords Leaked
Last week wasn't without its security leaks. Both LinkedInandLast.fm got hacked, spreading millions of passwords around the web. The takeaway? Change your password. Also, if you have an account at LinkedIn you'll want to check the web site LeakedIn to find out if your password was leaked and revealed publicly.

If you have a LinkedIn account, now's a good time to change your password. Up to 6.5 million…
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Questions and Answers

Each week we answer five questions from readers and listeners. Here's what we tackled this week.

16:13 How can I reinstall all my programs along with Windows?
You can create a custom Windows 7 installer. That's probably the easiest way, but both Adam Pash and myself keep network storage drives up-to-date with the latest installers to expedite the process. We're on Macs, though.

Windows is great, but it isn't exactly what you would call lean. It comes with a whole host of …
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20:20 How can I erase my files without reinstalling the OS?
We're not sure why this would be faster or preferable to performing a fresh install, but there are a few options. Mac users can just create a new user and then delete the old one. If they need to clean out additional system files, apps like Onyx and AppCleaner are capable options.

Windows users have it a little rougher in this department. There really isn't a great way to avoid doing it manually, but you can create a restore point in Windows 7 to revert to the way things were after a fresh install and configuration. Also, when Windows 8 is released you'll be able to utilize the Windows Reset feature to take care of the problem outright.

25:00 What should I look for when buying an SSD?
A recommended brand (we like OCZ and Corsair), fast read and write speeds, and good reviews. More often than not, if an SSD has at least 3.5 (out of 5.0) stars and hundreds of reviews, it's a safe buy. You rarely see SSDs with higher reviews because they've all failed someone (and that person usually has something to say about it). The same goes for hard drives, but we've also found some brands to be more reliable than others. In our experience, Seagate hasn't been holding up too well, but Western Digital and Samsung seem to spin just fine for me and Whitson (respectively).

30:35 Could I build my own iPod from parts I found online?
Presumably you could. If anyone out there wants to buy a bunch of iPod parts online and try this, we want to see pictures of the process. If you build your own iPod, let us know!

Downloads of the Week

Each week we talk about our favorite downloads. Here are our picks for this week.

32:45 WinDirStat (Windows)
WinDirStat is our favorite disk space analyzer for Windows. It scans your disk and shows you, in graphical form, where all that space is being wasted, giving you an idea of where to start cleaning. We love it because it's comprehensive and free. (Read more about it here.)

33:10 Found
If you use different cloud services like Dropbox and Google Drive it can be a pain to track down a specific file quickly. Found is an app that makes searching for files on the cloud and your hard drive as easy as using the default Spotlight search.

33:38 Instapaper (Android)
Instapaper fans on Android have a little more reason to celebrate this morning: an official Instapaper app is available now at Google Play. The Instapaper for Android app looks and operates much like its iOS cousin, and brings all of the mobile features you would want to Android devices, including your saved articles, the ability to share articles right from your device, and all of the reading and customization options you could possibly need.

34:13 Just Landed (iOS)
Picking someone up at the airport? Enter their flight number into iPhone app Just Landed and-taking into consideration real-time flight data, your location, and current traffic-it will send you an alert when it's time to leave the house for a seamless, no-waiting airport pickup.

34:53 Cloudee (iOS)
Cloudee is an iPhone app with a simple, primary object: to help you actually share those video clips you take with your device rather than let them sit and waste away in your camera roll. It does this by letting you quickly upload any video on your iPhone to the cloud and share it in a few clicks. It's really easy to use, and you can check out the beta right now.

Please keep your questions as brief as possible. This means about 3-5 sentences for emails and 30-60 seconds for calls and videos. Your questions can be specific, but broader questions are generally better because they'll apply to more people. For example, "how can I breathe new life into my old PDA?" is much better than "what can I do with an old HP iPAQ 210?" Either way, we look forward to hearing from you!